to what I thought him to have been), very active and stirring. Upon the
quarterdeck he fell into discourse of his escape from Worcester,

[For the King's own account of his escape dictated to Pepys, see
"Boscobel" (Bohn's "Standard Library").]

where it made me ready to weep to hear the stories that he told of his
difficulties that he had passed through, as his travelling four days and
three nights on foot, every step up to his knees in dirt, with nothing
but a green coat and a pair of country breeches on, and a pair of
country shoes that made him so sore all over his feet, that he could
scarce stir. Yet he was forced to run away from a miller and other
company, that took them for rogues. His sitting at table at one place,
where the master of the house, that had not seen him in eight years, did
know him, but kept it private; when at the same table there was one that
had been of his own regiment at Worcester, could not know him, but made
him drink the King's health, and said that the King was at least four
fingers higher than he. At another place he was by some servants of the
house made to drink, that they might know him not to be a Roundhead,
which they swore he was. In another place at his inn, the master of the
house,

[This was at Brighton. The inn was the "George," and the innkeeper
was named Smith. Charles related this circumstance again to Pepys
in October, 1680. He then said, "And here also I ran into another
very great danger, as being confident I was known by the master of
the inn; for, as I was standing after supper by the fireside,
leaning my hand upon a chair, and all the rest of the company being
gone into another room, the master of the inn came in and fell a-
talking with me, and just as he was looking about, and saw there was
nobody in the room, he upon a sudden kissed my hand that was upon
the back of the chair, and said to me, 'God bless you wheresoever
you go! I do not doubt before I die, but to be a lord, and my wife
a lady.' So I laughed, and went away into the next room."]

as the King was standing with his hands upon the back of a chair by the
fire-side, kneeled down and kissed his hand, privately, saying, that
he would not ask him who he was, but bid God bless him whither he was
going. Then the difficulty of getting a boat to get into France, where
he was fain to plot with the master thereof to keep his design from the